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Finding a job in Japan from abroad

You can get a job in Japan without moving there first — but not in every field. Here is the honest picture: who gets hired from abroad, how online interviews work, how a Japanese employer gets you a Certificate of Eligibility and a visa, the Specified Skilled Worker tests held outside Japan, how long it all takes, and what to do if a remote search is not working.

How the CoE works

How to find a job

Checked against the websites of the Immigration Services Agency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Japan Foundation on October 7, 2026 · Certificate of Eligibility · Work visas

Standard processing time of a Certificate of Eligibility1–3 months

To enter Japan after the CoE is issued3 months

Immigration fee for a Certificate of Eligibility¥0

Countries with a Specified Skilled Worker cooperation memorandum17

In short

Job hunting from abroad in five lines

  • Most realistic for IT specialists and engineers with a relevant degree, Specified Skilled Workers who have passed their tests, and language teachers.
  • The employer does the visa paperwork. The company applies to immigration for your Certificate of Eligibility (在留資格認定証明書, zairyū shikaku nintei shōmeisho — CoE), and with it you get a visa at the Japanese embassy or consulate at home.
  • Timing: the CoE takes 1–3 months, the visa usually 5 working days, and you must enter Japan within 3 months of the CoE being issued.
  • You cannot work on a tourist visa, and switching it to a work status inside Japan is allowed only in special circumstances.
  • Nobody can sell you a visa. The CoE is free, and a deposit or a “penalty” contract demanded by a broker is a warning sign (see below).

Who gets hired

Who is hired without coming to Japan first

An employer can most easily hire from abroad someone whose qualifications are easy to check on paper and whose job fits a work status.

IT specialists and engineers

The Engineer / Specialist in Humanities / International Services status (技術・人文知識・国際業務): a relevant degree, a Japanese vocational school (専門学校) diploma or 10 years of experience. Some Japanese IT qualifications — Fundamental Information Technology Engineer (FE) and Applied Information Technology Engineer (AP) — can replace the degree; they are also held in English as ITPEC exams in several Asian countries. More

Specified Skilled Workers

Nursing care, construction, manufacturing, hotels and other fields. You need a skills test for your field and Japanese at JFT-Basic or JLPT N4 level. Both are held in Japan and in other countries (see below). In food service, new applications are currently suspended (since April 13, 2026): no new Certificates of Eligibility are issued. More

Teachers and translators

Teaching a language and translating count as “international services” under the same status: a degree in any subject or 3 years of experience. Teachers at elementary, junior high and high schools (public or private) work under a separate status, Instructor (教育). More

Staff of international companies

If you have worked for at least a year at a company’s office abroad and it has an office in Japan, you can be transferred on the Intra-company Transferee status (企業内転勤). More

Highly paid specialists

Experience, education and salary earn points for the Highly Skilled Professional status (高度専門職), with simpler rules and a faster route to permanent residency. More

Who has it harder

Humanities graduates, marketers and other “general” profiles find it harder to get a remote offer with visa sponsorship: immigration checks the documents more strictly, and a long hiring process from abroad does not always pay off for the company.

Specified Skilled Worker

Tests abroad and your country’s sending procedure

The Specified Skilled Worker (i) status (特定技能1号) is the main route into Japan for jobs without a degree. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs describes the process: pass the tests, sign an employment contract with the Japanese employer (directly or with the help of a private employment agency), the employer applies for the CoE, then you get the visa.

The tests

  • Japanese: the Japan Foundation Test for Basic Japanese (JFT-Basic) or JLPT N4. JFT-Basic is a computer-based test held, as a rule, every month. Scores run from 10 to 250; 200 or more is A2 (A2.2) — the level used for Specified Skilled Worker (i). Since August 2026 the test also reports A1 and A2.1.
  • Where JFT-Basic was held in FY2025, according to the Japan Foundation: Japan and Indonesia, Nepal, Myanmar, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Pakistan.
  • Skills tests are set separately for each field — 19 in total, of which 16 are already open (nursing care, building cleaning, manufacturing, construction, accommodation, agriculture and others), by the ministry or industry body in charge. Nursing care also has a care Japanese test. Schedules for Japan and abroad are on ssw.go.jp.
  • People who completed Technical Intern Training (ii) are exempt from the tests in a related field.

Memorandum of Cooperation countries

Japan has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (二国間取決め) on Specified Skilled Workers with 17 countries (as of December 1, 2025): the Philippines, Cambodia, Nepal, Myanmar, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Thailand, India, Malaysia, Laos, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Its purpose, in the words of the Immigration Services Agency, is to shut out unscrupulous brokers who collect deposits from people coming to Japan. Being from one of these countries is not a requirement — workers of other nationalities can be hired too. Some of these countries have their own sending procedure:

Country Sending procedure (as stated on the ISA country pages)
Vietnam Recommendation list (推薦者表) approved by the Vietnamese authorities (DOLAB for new hires from Vietnam); it is attached to the CoE application. Employers sign a contract with a licensed Vietnamese sending organization.
Cambodia A registration certificate issued by the Cambodian government; it is attached to the immigration application.
Mongolia The government office GOLWS (Ministry of Labour and Social Protection) is the only sending organization.
Philippines Philippine-side procedures through the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and its Migrant Workers Offices in Tokyo and Osaka; licensed agencies are listed by the DMW. No proof is attached to the Japanese application.
Thailand, Bangladesh Using an agency is optional, but if one is used it must be licensed by the home government.
India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan Using a government-licensed sending organization is optional.
Indonesia Using a placement agency is optional; no proof of Indonesian-side procedures is attached to the Japanese application.
Myanmar, Malaysia, Laos, Tajikistan See the country page of the Immigration Services Agency for the current procedure.

Procedures change — before you sign anything, check the country page of the Immigration Services Agency and ask the Japanese embassy or your government’s overseas employment authority.

Brokers and fees

What nobody may charge you for

Most problems for workers coming from abroad start with an intermediary, not with the employer.

  • Deposits and penalty contracts are illegal. Before a Specified Skilled Worker enters Japan, the employer must explain that a contract collecting a deposit (保証金) or setting a penalty (違約金) for breaking the contract is illegal.
  • Support costs are the employer’s. The mandatory support for Specified Skilled Workers (i) — airport pickup, help finding housing, information on the contract, interpreting — is paid by the employer and may not be charged to you.
  • Japanese agencies may not charge job seekers (Employment Security Act, Article 32-3), apart from narrow exceptions (a small registration fee for certain performing, modeling, domestic and catering jobs, and high earners). Details: recruitment agencies.
  • Licensed means listed. In a Memorandum country, use only a sending organization on the official list; in Japan, check the agency’s license number in the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare database (人材サービス総合サイト).
  • Keep your passport. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s rules for employers say they must not keep workers’ passports or residence cards. Showing a document is normal; handing it over “for safekeeping” is not.

Red flags: a “visa guarantee” for a fee, a job you may only learn about after paying, a contract you are not allowed to read in full, a loan from the broker to cover their own fees. Walk away — and tell the Japanese embassy or your government’s overseas employment authority.

Online interviews

How to interview from another country

Japanese companies often hold the first rounds online; the final round is sometimes in the office. The stages are the same as in Japan: document screening, 1–3 interviews, then the job offer (内定, naitei).

  • Time. Check the time difference — Japan is on JST (UTC+9) all year, with no daylight saving time. Join 5–10 minutes early.
  • Equipment. Test your camera, sound and connection in advance; use a neutral background and dress as for an in-person interview.
  • Manners. A slight bow at the start and the end, honorific language (敬語, keigo) if the interview is in Japanese.
  • The visa. Be ready to ask whether the company will apply for your CoE and who prepares the documents; explain your degree and experience — your status depends on them.
  • If they ask you to come over. You may not work or be paid on a short-term stay; ask whether the final round can be held online, and who pays for the trip.

Typical questions and how to answer them: job interviews in Japan.

CoE and visa

How the employer gets you a visa

The Certificate of Eligibility confirms that you qualify for the status. At home it gets you the visa; at the Japanese airport, your status of residence and residence card. The full procedure: Certificate of Eligibility.

  1. Offer and termsThe company sends the offer (内定), then the written notice of working conditions (労働条件通知書, rōdō jōken tsūchisho) — it is needed for the CoE too. What to check in the contract.
  2. You send documentsA scan of your degree, a resume with your work history, a 4 × 3 cm photo and your passport details — as the company asks.
  3. The company applies for the CoEA staff member of the company (or an administrative scrivener, 行政書士) files the application at the regional immigration bureau on your behalf. There is no fee.
  4. Processing: 1–3 monthsThat is the standard processing time. The bureau may ask for more documents — answer quickly.
  5. You receive the CoEIt is issued on paper or by email. The company forwards it to you.
  6. VisaApply at the Japanese embassy or consulate (or its designated visa center) in your country with the CoE and your passport. Processing normally takes 5 working days from the day after the application is accepted; a single-entry visa is valid for 3 months. Getting the visa.
  7. EntryWithin 3 months of the CoE being issued. At major airports you get your residence card (在留カード, zairyū kādo) on arrival.
  8. The first 14 daysRegister your address at the city office within 14 days of moving in. Then: your first 30 days.

An example with dates

The offer arrives on February 1, 2027, and the company files for the CoE on February 15. With the standard 1–3 months, the certificate will come between about mid-March and mid-May. It is emailed to you on Monday, March 15: you apply for the visa on Tuesday, March 16, and with 5 working days it is ready around Tuesday, March 23 (local holidays can add days). You fly in on April 1 and register your address by April 15. If the CoE only arrives in mid-May, you must enter Japan by mid-August, and the company moves your start date to the summer.

A CoE is not a visa. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs points out that a Certificate of Eligibility does not guarantee that the embassy will issue the visa — for example, if your passport or identity cannot be confirmed.

Documents

Documents for a CoE on the Engineer/Specialist status

The Immigration Services Agency’s list for a category 3 company — one that files the tax summary of salaries but is not in category 1 or 2. Category 1 and 2 companies in principle need nothing beyond the application, the photo, a return envelope and a document showing the company’s category (for example, a copy of the tax summary).

Document What it is Who prepares it
在留資格認定証明書交付申請書 Application for a Certificate of Eligibility The company and you
写真（縦4cm×横3cm） Photo, 4 × 3 cm, as the bureau requires You
労働条件を明示する文書 Written working conditions (contract or notice) The company
履歴書 Resume: where, as what and how long you worked in your field You
卒業証明書 Degree or graduation certificate You
CEFR B2 相当の資料 Proof of language level B2 — only if the work is mainly language work (translation, customer service) You
法定調書合計表（写し） The company’s tax summary for last year The company
登記事項証明書 Certificate of company registration The company
事業内容を明らかにする資料 Company description: history, executives, business, clients The company
決算文書の写し Financial statements for the latest year The company
所属機関の代表者に関する申告書 Declaration about the company’s representative The company

Other statuses have their own lists — for Specified Skilled Workers, for example, the test certificates are added, and for some Memorandum countries the sending-side document (see above). Full lists and forms: which documents do I need? Documents in a foreign language must come with a Japanese translation.

Deadlines

Realistic chances, timing and what happens if you miss a deadline

A search from abroad usually takes longer than one in Japan: fewer in-person interviews, and companies pick the candidates who are easiest to hire. Plan for several months and prepare a plan B at the same time.

What When If you miss it
CoE processing 1–3 months (standard) the company may move your start date
Entry with the CoE within 3 months of issue the certificate expires — the company applies again
Single-entry visa valid for 3 months you need a new visa
Address registration 14 days after moving in a violation; no address for more than 90 days is a ground for revocation
Working in your status no more than 3 months without the activity of your status without a good reason the status can be revoked

Linked to your visa.

  • The job must fit the status: position, education and experience are checked already at the CoE stage.
  • A tourist visa does not allow work, and changing it to a work status inside Japan is allowed only in special circumstances.
  • Working Holiday: if your country is in Japan’s scheme and you are within the age limit, you can usually come for up to a year (the rules differ by country) and work while traveling — Working Holiday visa and working on a Working Holiday visa.
  • Graduates of top world universities (top 100 in two of three rankings, no more than 5 years after graduation, at least ¥200,000 in savings) can come to look for work on the J-Find status for up to 2 years.

Work visas · Certificate of Eligibility · Getting the visa · J-Find

Through study

If a remote search does not work: study first

Many people come on a student visa first and find their job once they are in Japan.

  1. Language schoolChoosing a school and preparing the documents — free with JapanEasy. Most schools expect Japanese at about JLPT N5 level; immigration checks level A1 (for example JLPT N5 or JFT-Basic A1, other tests or an interview also count).
  2. Japanese and a part-time jobWhile you study — progress to N3–N2 and up to 28 hours a week of part-time work with permission: part-time work for students.
  3. Looking for work in JapanIn-person interviews, the Employment Service Centers for Foreigners, your school’s job board.
  4. Change of statusWith an offer — a change to a work status without leaving Japan. A graduate with a degree from a university abroad who has not found a job yet may get the job-hunting status, if the school meets the conditions.

How it works step by step: if you are a student; the Japanese you need: Japanese for work; the schools: language schools in Japan.

If you have a family

Spouse, children, parents: what changes

A dependent for tax and a dependent for health insurance are two different things with different income limits. All the rules for families: Family and dependents.

  • Your family on the Dependent status (家族滞在, kazoku taizai) — possible with most work statuses, but not with Specified Skilled Worker (i). Dependent visa.
  • A separate CoE is needed for your spouse and for each child. If you are still abroad, a copy of your passport goes into their application, along with the marriage or birth certificate and documents about your job.
  • Together or later. Your family can come with you or once you have settled in.
  • A spouse on the Dependent status may work up to 28 hours a week with part-time work permission (資格外活動許可).
  • Taxes and insurance for your family in Japan: Family and dependents.

FAQ

Questions about finding a job in Japan from abroad

Can’t find your question? Write to us — a real person replies.

Ask us a question

Can I get a job in Japan without going there first?

Yes, in some fields. It works best for IT specialists and engineers with a relevant degree, for Specified Skilled Workers who have passed the skills and Japanese tests, and for language teachers. The employer then applies for your Certificate of Eligibility, and you get the visa at the Japanese embassy or consulate in your country.

Immigration charges no fee for a Certificate of Eligibility. The visa fee depends on your nationality, and a visa center may add its own service charge. Nobody can sell you a visa: a status of residence is granted only by immigration.

Usually 2 to 4 months. The Certificate of Eligibility takes 1 to 3 months, the visa normally 5 working days, and you must enter Japan within 3 months of the certificate being issued.

In Japan and abroad. In FY2025 the Japan Foundation held JFT-Basic in Japan and 13 other countries, including Indonesia, Nepal, Myanmar, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, India and Vietnam. Skills test schedules for each field are published on the Specified Skilled Worker support site, ssw.go.jp.

It depends on the country. Vietnam requires an approved recommendation list, Cambodia a registration certificate, and in Mongolia a government office is the only sending organization. In India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and several other countries an agency is optional. Check the country page of the Immigration Services Agency before you sign anything.

No. Under the Specified Skilled Worker rules, contracts that collect a deposit or set a penalty for leaving are illegal, and the mandatory support costs are paid by the employer. Japanese recruitment agencies may not charge job seekers either, apart from narrow exceptions (a small registration fee for certain performing, modeling, domestic and catering jobs, and high earners). Refuse and report it.

You can look, but you cannot work on a short-term stay, and changing it to a work status inside Japan is allowed only in special circumstances. Usually the company must apply for a Certificate of Eligibility and you leave Japan to get the visa. Graduates of top universities may use the J-Find status instead.

Study → Find a job → Work → Taxes → PR or leave

From student to working in Japan — and where you are on the way

  1. Studylanguage school · part-time up to 28 h a week
  2. Find a jobresume, interviews, shūkatsuYou are here
  3. Workcontract, pay, your first 30 days
  4. Taxestaxes, insurance and pension
  5. PR or leavea clean record for PR — or the pension refund

Sources

Where this information comes from

Rates, limits and deadlines on this page were checked against the official websites of the Immigration Services Agency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Japan Foundation on October 7, 2026. Amounts are in Japanese yen. When a rule changes we update the page and the date above.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Immigration decides your status of residence and the Japanese embassy or consulate decides your visa. For a complex case, talk to an immigration lawyer or a licensed administrative scrivener (行政書士, gyōsei shoshi).

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